TİKA supports Serbia protecting flood-hit areas

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) carried out stream rehabilitation work in Serbia in order to prevent new floods.
Heavy rainfall caused floods in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in May 2014 killing at least 30 people in Serbia and regarded as the worst natural disaster in the past 120 years. The financial damage is calculated to be around 1 billion euros.  
Turkey had pledged to offer assistance to meet immediate basic needs and to prevent new floods in the region during international community meetings held in Brussels to help recover the wounds of Serbia. Initially, disinfection products were sent to the citizens of Obrenovac to fight against the possibility of epidemics and infectious diseases, 30 flood-affected families were provided with household goods in Svilajnac, and also a kindergarten was provided with kitchen tools and equipment.

Furthermore, TİKA supported the stream rehabilitation project in 8 areas in coordination with the Office for Flood Affected Areas Assistance and Rehabilitation led by Serbian Government to create a permanent solution to the potential flood disasters in the region.
TİKA built flood barriers and cleaned up the riverbed in different flood-hit areas such as Leskovats, Vlasotints, Vladicin Han, Kladovo, Trgoviste, Bosilegrad and Buyanovats, thus ensuring the safety of 181.000 people as pledged in Donors Conference for Serbia and Bosnia and Hercegovina (Brussels, 2014).

Serbian government's flood protection efforts were supported by TİKA's rehabilitation works so as to protect cultivated and industrial areas in the regions receiving heavy rainfall. Turkey, therefore, fulfilled its commitment through these projects, which were promised back in Belgium.